Pack of ATV riders frightening Tower Grove residents

ST. LOUIS – Neighbors in the Tower Grove community are on edge. They say a group of ATV riders are terrorizing several neighborhoods.

Fox 2/KPLR 11 spoke with a woman who lives in the neighborhood. She said you can hear them before you see them.

"They are awfully brazen and they drive reckless. They don't stop at any stop signs, they blast right on through," she said.

For safety reasons, we have decided not to reveal the woman's identity. If you live in south St. Louis, you most likely know what she is talking about.

"I encountered between 10 and 20 ATVs driving erratically southbound in the northbound lane, weaving in and out, nearly hitting me, and that freaked me out."

The woman said a group of people riding on ATVs approached and nearly ran her off the road. She said they pulled out a gun and chased her for about four blocks.

"I was so scared for my life, I was afraid he was going to come back and try to shoot me,” she said. “When the police came, they told me they are not allowed to pursue people in the city."

We contacted the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department about the matter. They issued the following statement:

"There are no city ordinances on the books for ATVs. All of the ATV laws/rules are found in state statutes. State statute does not allow for the operation of ATVs on Missouri roadways open to the public, unless the ATV is owned and operated by the government for official use or operated for agricultural use... The problem seen by our Traffic Safety Division is that the ATV drivers will take off (flee) from the police and by policy, we cannot chase them for traffic violations."

The woman said something needs to be done to make the neighborhood a safer place to live.

"This is not the way America should be. This is not the way St. Louis should be," she said.